Thursday, August 13, 2015

Meet The Maker - Larissa from Unravelled

This week's Handmade in Kansas City blog is an introduction to one of our newer members, Larissa Uredi of Unravelled LLC. Larissa is currently a working artist and web developer in the Westport area and has a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute. She started Unravelled in 2007 and is proud to showcase her handmade jewelry, hand-dyed silk scarves and fine art paintings at various places around Kansas City. Here she is in her own words to explain a little bit about herself and her process:

What brought you to Kansas City? What makes you stay?

Well, I was born and raised in Denver and moved out to KC for college. After college I realized that KC has a great arts scene--it's really supportive and very eager to let new artists in to gain some exposure. I was really lucky to meet some great gallery owners right out of college and had some awesome opportunities to showcase my work.

Tell us a little bit about your artistic process and background:

Well, I started drawing when I was a little kid. I would draw my Disney movie covers and was convinced that I was going to be an illustrator for Disney when I grew up. Unfortunately for me, they had long since moved to computer animation by the time I got to college and I lost a lot of interest in Illustration as an art form when I saw how digital it had become. When I started at KCAI I was thinking that I might pursue something along the lines of photography or creative writing but ended up falling in love with fiber and textiles. I discovered that I could get really excited about dyeing and manipulating silks, wools and other natural materials and decided that it would be a good major for me.

Where do you draw your inspiration from as an artist?

This is always a tricky question for me--the short answer is the natural world but it's more than that I think. I really love exploring new places and getting out and physically experiencing the world. I enjoy hiking and running and biking and all forms of movement and so for me, while I draw a lot of my inspiration from the colors and shapes found in nature, it's really about being out in the world and being present in different landscapes and spaces that gets me excited. I am still working on exactly how to convey that passion for movement and seeking/exploration in my work but I actively work on collecting artifacts, textures, colors and geometry when I go out adventuring or exploring in hopes that I'll get some of that energy across in my work.

What are you currently working on in the studio?

Right now I'm actually participating in an artist residency in Spain called Can Serrat. It's a really wonderful place and I'm in love with the village. The landscape around here is really amazing and I'm looking forward to creating work inspired by the place. I've been thinking a lot about the great mosaic patterns and art in this area and am hoping to bring some of that into my work. I have a show coming up in June of 2016 at The 504 Gallery in downtown and so a lot of what I've been doing lately is geared towards that. I've been working on silk wall hangings and just these really bright, colorful pieces. I'm excited to see how it all comes together!

How did you find out about Handmade in KC and what prompted you to join?

A friend stumbled across your website and sent me a link. It sounded like a really cool group of people and I liked the structure of the group with people actively sharing and working together to help promote each other. I think we need more things where artists can look at each other as allies and advocates instead of just competition. Kansas City has a LOT of artists and while we all want to stand out, I love that we can also come together as a community. Creative and artistic support is something that I think a lot of artists miss after they graduate from college and being able to find a group that I can talk to and work with has been really exciting.

Can you tell us a little bit about Unravelled?

Sure! So I started Unravelled LLC in 2007. I have always been interested in running my own business and had found a new love of jewelry and design and decided to combine my two interests. It's been an awesome experience and I've learned a lot about myself and about the arts world. I typically can be found set up at various galleries in Kansas City during First Fridays and more recently I've teamed up with The Classy Collective as a way to promote and sell my work in a group. It's another great example of artists + community and I'm excited to be part of it. As Unravelled I mainly focus on my more commercial work such as contemporary jewelry made with natural gemstones and findings as well as my painted and dyed silk scarves. I also feature a small collection of art prints and fine art paintings. You can find some of my work on my website: www.unravelledonline.com